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Friday, September 19, 2014

In Which Pirates Board the S.S. Christmas

By Kathleen Rice Adams

First: Happy International Talk Like a Pirate Day! We hope everyone is wandering around clad in historically inaccurate garb while annoying friends and strangers with random, bizarre words that never existed except in Hollywood’s imagination.

If you don’t convince everyone your marbles left the planet some time ago, you’re doing it wrong. (Need help with fake-pirate lingo? Visit the handy-dandy English-to-Pirate dictionary.)

Now on to the legitimate stuff.

Nice segue, huh?

Prairie Rose Publications published its first book Oct. 29, 2013. The anthology Wishing for a Cowboy contained eight short stories set in the Old West at Christmastime. Seven popular authors in the western historical romance genre and one unknown contributed to the volume, which turned out to be quite a successful debut for a brand-new publisher.

Since then, anthologies seem to have cropped up everywhere, and the trend appears to be gaining speed. PRP won’t lay claim to revitalizing a form once eschewed by the publishing industry, but we like to believe we’ve played a small role in reinvigorating the anthology as a medium offering significant benefits to both authors and readers.

For readers, short story collections represent an opportunity not only to find bite-sized pieces from their favorite scribes, but also to encounter work by writers with whom they’re unfamiliar. Often, one or two of the unfamiliar voices become new favorites. Most short stories can be digested in a single sitting, which makes anthologies perfect for slipping into a fantasy when time is limited.

A warning probably should be mentioned here. Anthologies and bags of potato chips share a common trait: Open either, and you’re liable to munch through the whole package before you realize what you've done.

At least with an anthology, you don’t need to feel guilty about overindulging.

Most authors develop a love-hate relationship with short stories. Not every author wants to or can write short. Those who embrace the format enjoy producing a complete, satisfying tale in weeks instead of hiding out in a dingy garret for the months or years novel writing requires. At the same time, it’s enormously challenging to create a complete, satisfying tale in very few words.

Writing short stories and novellas teaches authors a) to get to the point, and b) the true definition of “kill your darlings.” Characters acting up? Lynch the weasels. Plot bunnies hopping out of hats uninvited? Poisoned carrots work wonders. Extra words and phrases creeping in from nowhere? Send them on a scouting expedition with Custer.

All of that sounds very cruel, but trust me: In a last-man-standing situation, anyone or anything that gets in the way is just begging for the use of deadly force.

Now that I’ve gone all the way around the frying pan to get to the handle, let me accomplish what I set out to do with this post:

If you have a Christmas story rambling around in your head, now’s the time to put it on digital paper and email the completed manuscript (attached as a Microsoft Word document) along with a query letter (in the body of the email) to Cheryl Pierson at prairierosepublications@yahoo.com. Put the name of the anthology for which you are submitting in the email’s subject line.

Present for a Cowboy

Got a sweet/sensual holiday romance about a present for a special cowboy? That’s what we’re looking for to fill Present for a Cowboy. The present could be a material gift—or a gift of the heart. Put a hunky cowboy and a feisty heroine together during the holidays and see what you can come up with—but don’t forget that special gift!

Wild Texas Christmas

Do you have a holiday story that’s on the hot side? Send your sensual/spicy submissions for consideration for Wild Texas Christmas. You know what they say about Texas: There’s no taming the men—or the women—from that part of the country.

When Christmas comes along and cold weather sets in, a cozy cabin, a warm fire, and some time alone together can heat up the Texas frontier. Turn your imagination loose and see what you come up with—but remember, it’s got to happen in Texas, where everything is bigger, better, and wilder! (No erotica, please.)

19 comments:

In all seriousness, we encourage ALL FEMALE WRITERS of western romance to submit stories to our anthologies--and if you can't get a story out in time for Christmas, we will have a Valentine's anthology headed your way before long, so be watching for the call out for that one, too!

Anthologies are so much fun, and it's a great way of getting to meet other authors--whether as an author yourself or as a reader.

Our two Halloween anthologies, COWBOYS, CREATURES, AND CALICO Volumes 1 and 2 will be available in a couple of weeks. It's too late to submit stories for them, but if you're a Halloween nut like some of us are, the reading is going to be great and keep it in mind for next year's submissions!

Lots of great reading and writing opportunities here at Prairie Rose Publications! We hope you'll consider submitting your work here!

These anthologies are incredibly fun -- and I say that as both a writer and a reader. The Roses are a gang of nuts, and I'm always amazed at what they come up with. Whatever ends up between the pages, I guarantee there's a lot of good reading in every anthology! :-)

These anthologies are fun to read as well as write for. I've got a story in the Halloween one, so I'm taking a break and will sit back and simply enjoy all the tales in the Christmas anthologies. I'm off to drink me some ale and search for the pirate king...

You've already finished your Christmas story? I think I have to hate you now. ;-)

I extremely glad you've written another Christmas story, though! After "Charlie's Pie" won the Peacemaker Award for Best Short Fiction (and rightly so), I'm eager to see what you've come up with for this year. :-)

Me Christmas story be done, turned in and avoided walkin' the plank! :) Seriously, I've enjoyed writing these shorter stories for PRP. They give me a chance to take a break from the long novels and also tell stories of those characters in my mind whose stories aren't long, but still great stories worth telling...I hope. :)

I know what I'm getting for Christmas. Just in time to read some good stories. Of course I'm still behind on all the other stories I'm going to read. Can't a 'good girl' get a break? No cancel that, I'd rather be a bad girl and curl up this winter with some great stories. (And yes, I'll be back to writing more frequently now that the summer season is almost over...sigh. Nice for the creative side, not so much for the practical, pay the bills side. Grin) Doris

Argh! Well blast it all maties, the Christmas anthologies sound wonderful, but me cups are spillin' over a bit right now. I've never tried to write a short story but would love to try it. Since my first PRP just released I'm swamped with getting it out there, and also trying to finish the next one--almost there. But I will be ready to read both Christmas releases and can't wait--I know Ithey'll be thoroughly delightful. I'm going to put all my effort in trying a short one for Valentine's Day though. You've got me bitin' at the bit, darnit. Thanks, Bev

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Prairie Rose Publications

Welcome to PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS

PRP is a publishing company devoted to publishing westerns and western romances written by women.

PRAIRIE ROSE PUBLICATIONS was opened in August, 2013, by LIVIA J. WASHBURN and CHERYL PIERSON, two authors who saw a need for such an imprint. Usually, when people think “westerns” they think of male authors and male readers—but that’s not true in today’s world. Many women are just as interested in reading—and writing—westerns as their male counterparts; and of course, western romance has always been popular among the ladies!